South East region update

Welcome

Welcome to our latest bulletin for the South East region.

Did you see the launch of our Village SOS programme on the BBC One Show last month?  In case you missed it, the BBC and BIG have come together to look for three villages in England with a great business idea and three enterprising individuals to act as Village Champions to help them achieve their ambitions. To find out if your village can apply check out our website

I am also very pleased to tell you that following our Big Thinking consultation earlier this year, we have now published a Strategic Framework document which sets our priorities for the next 6 years.  To accompany the framework, we have also published a What You Told Us document, which summarises the results from the consultation.  Read this bulletin to get more details.

And last but certainly not least, the Big Lottery Fund has released a recession package.  The package aims to tackle the longer-term effects of the recession.  You can read more about it in the article below.

Alison Rowe

Head of Region, South East

BIG response to help recession hit communities

The Big Lottery Fund is to pump a multi-million pound package of funding into communities to help them cope with the effects of the recession.

An additional £43 million is to be invested across the UK to tackle the longer-term effects of the recession on the UK’s communities. BIG is working closely with stakeholders to determine what form the support will take, but it is thought it could include targeted funding for specific services such as debt advice and support to help train increasing numbers of volunteers.

Responding to the increasing pressure facing the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS), BIG has also reprioritised and refocused its portfolio and increased the budgets of some of its most popular programmes this year, to the tune of around £45million. All these adjustments have been made to help get funding fast to where VCS voices are saying it is needed most.

The move includes a £20million increase in Reaching Communities, a programme through which VCS organisations can access up to £500,000 for up to five years. A £7.2 million boost to the BASIS programme will help build capacity in the sector.

Peter Wanless, Chief Executive at the Big Lottery Fund, said: “I am very aware of the tough times communities are experiencing and the increased demand this is inevitably placing on the voluntary and charitable sector. While there are some reports that the recession may be easing, we know that the full impact on the UK’s communities is still working its way through, impacting on homes across the nation, bringing family breakdown, mental illness, unemployment and personal debt.

“The BIG Lottery Fund aims to work as an intelligent funder and we are responding to this critical time with a substantial package of support designed to reach those that need it most.  Right now, the last thing the Sector needs from us is another targeted fund with its own eligibility criteria, rules and procedures. By channelling more money through our existing funding streams, we can respond immediately to the increasing demand from local groups and organisations coping with the crunch. We are also using the close working relationships we have with experts out there to identify how we can effect distinct and additional support to recession-hit communities in ways that won’t otherwise take place.”

Results of the Big thinking consultation

We are pleased to launch our Big thinking Strategic Framework to 2015 and What You Told Us documents.

These two documents are the culmination of the biggest consultation exercise BIG has ever undertaken. Nearly 3,500 people responded online to the consultation and 3,000 people attended events between November 2008 and February 2009.

What is the Big thinking Strategic Framework?

The framework sets out the principles which will underpin BIG’s approach to funding in the UK in the next six years. It explains what we want to achieve and how we will deliver our mission and vision: bringing real improvements to communities and the lives of people most in need. All of our future programmes will use the new framework as a starting point and it sets out our ambitions for being an efficient and responsive funder.

Download a copy of the Big thinking Strategic Framework

What is the What You Told Us document?

This is an in-depth analysis of the responses to the consultation, drawing on material from the online survey and the regional and national meetings held during the three months of the consultation. It shows where there was the strongest support for our ideas and where we will want to discuss issues further in the coming months. It demonstrates how we came to the conclusions in BIG Thinking – our Strategic Framework to 2015 and we see it as a crucial part of what has been a very open and transparent consultation process.

Download a copy of the What You Told Us document

Sir Clive Booth, Chair of the BIG Lottery Fund said: “BIG Thinking was the most open consultation process the Big Lottery Fund has ever had. We’ve listened to what our stakeholders said and have incorporated that feedback to develop our Strategic Framework document. From this starting point, we will develop our funding programmes to distribute good-cause funding over the coming years that will make a lasting impact on the lives of communities and people in need throughout the UK.”   

To find out more about Big thinking, check out our website which has a useful Q&A section and a video message from our Chief Executive Peter Wanless.

Vital finance support for over 300 Brighton and Hove charities

Brighton and Hove Social Welfare Educational Trust and its partners have just received a £306,718 boost with a grant from the BASIS (Building and Sustaining Infrastructure Support) programme as part of the Big Lottery Fund’s recession package.

Brighton and Hove Social Welfare Education Trust is working in partnership with Impact Initiatives and The Working Together Project to provide financial management support to small community groups run by volunteers and operating on a low income in Brighton and Hove. It is hoped that over 300 local groups will benefit over the next five years from the Money in Mind project which is due to start in October 2009.

Brighton and Hove charities and voluntary groups are continuing to take on the challenges of the economic downturn and this funding will provide extra support in improving the efficiency and impact of the essential local services they provide.

Dani Ahrens of the Resource Centre said: "We are delighted that the Lottery is funding our Money in Mind project, which will help small community groups across Brighton & Hove manage their money more easily.  Keeping on top of the finances makes it much easier for groups to raise funds, and to involve members in planning for the future.”  

Brighton and Hove Social Welfare Educational Trust Ltd is one of 16 projects across England sharing in an extra £7.2 million in funding made available through BIG’s BASIS programme to provide additional strength to third sector infrastructure.

To find out more about the BASIS programme visit our website. Please note that the BASIS programme is now closed for applications.

Enter our photo competition

The Big Lottery Fund and the Heritage Lottery Fund have joined forces with Green Spaces to launch the Postcards from the Park competition.

The competition is a chance to celebrate parks in the UK through images that reflect their role in our everyday lives. Anyone can enter, so why not take advantage of the summer weather and get down to your favourite park with your camera in hand.

The lucky winner will receive £1,000 in Jessops vouchers. Enter today as the competition runs until 3 August 2009.

To find out how you can enter, visit the Postcards for the Park website.

Awards for All is going green in the South East

An agricultural group in Crowhurst is set to grow after receiving an Awards for All grant of more than £3,000.

Crowhurst Community Agriculture received £3,540 to run a series of event days to teach people about growing organic food, caring for the environment and living sustainably. The group promotes local growing of produce, and by doing so aims to increase healthy eating and sustainability within the community.

Sarah Blackford, Chair of the management committee, said: “Last year I set aside two acres of the farm for growing vegetables after I was approached by a group of people keen to learn how to grow produce naturally and also reconnect with where their food comes from. We now have 19 members and others who come along to learn, with around 80 family members benefitting from the scheme.”

Other grants made in this round of awards include:

• ·£9,980 to Patcham House Special School to set up a new after-school music club for its 11-16 year-old pupils
• ·£9,860 to Living Well Healthy Living Centre to provide assertiveness and related skills courses to improve the health of volunteers and the whole community
• ·£4,500 to Cookado to provide simple cookery workshops at community events to improve healthy eating habits for the whole community
• ·£4,809 to Pestalozzi International to train at least 30 volunteers from local Black and Minority Ethnic communities in East Sussex to become 'Global Voices'

A total of £254,253 is being distributed to 36 groups across the South East region in the latest round of awards.

Please note that the Awards for All programme has recently undergone some changes. Please visit the website for more information and a copy of the new application form.

Upcoming events in your region

The South East regional team will be speaking at the following events across the region:

East Berkshire Funding Fair (Windsor Racecourse)

30 September 2009

The funding fair is for voluntary and community sector organisations based in East Berkshire. For more information and a booking form contact Lorna or Carmel at Slough Council for Voluntary Services on 01753 524176 or at enquiries@sloughcvs.org.uk

In addition to the above, Participation Works is holding a series of training courses to help organisations involve young people more fully in their work and promote a culture of participation among all the services that affect young people.

There are a number of courses on offer in the South East and London.

• 2 July 2009 Hear by Right (London)
• 16 July 2009 Ready Steady Change (Brighton)
• 21 July 2009 Building a Culture of Participation (London)

Participation works is a is a consortium of six national children and young people agencies and its courses are free to voluntary, community and other third sector organisations. Please visit the Participation Works website for more details on the courses and how to register.